Flat car bulkhead locking mechanism

ABSTRACT

A movable bulkhead assembly and associated flat bedded railway car. The bulkhead assembly is movable to any of a plurality of preselected positions longitudinally of the car for bracing freight carried on its bed. The bulkhead is supported for such movement upon spaced tracks and the bulkhead assembly includes a supporting arrangement that engages the tracks for facilitating movement of the bulkhead assembly regardless of misalignment of the tracks, a drive mechanism for moving the bulkhead along the car and a locking mechanism for restraining the bulkhead in selected freight bracing positions. A safety mechanism is provided for preventing inadvertent operation of either of the drive or locking mechanisms.

United States Patent 1 13,583,333

[72] inventor Tibor Matyas 3,215,092 11/1965 Knippel 105/376 Plymouth.Mich. 3,369,502 2/1968 Breen et al 105/376 [21] Appl. No 806,062 3,384,034 5/1968 Loomis et al. [05/376 [22] Filed Mar. 11,1969 3,476,041 [H1969 Matyaslm... [05/376 [45] Patented June 8, 1971 Assignee Evans Produc's Company Primary Examiner Drayton E, Hoffman [54] FLAT CAR BULKHEAD LOCKING MECHANISM AtzorneyHarness. Dickey & Pierce ABSTRACT: A movable bulkhead assembly and associated flat bedded railway car. The bulkhead assembly is movable to any ofa plurality of preselected positions longitudinally of the car for bracing freight carried on its bed, The bulkhead is supported for such movement upon spaced tracks and the bulkhead assembly includes a supporting arrangement that engages the tracks for facilitating movement of the bulkhead assembly regardless of misalignment of the tracks, a drive mechanism for moving the bulkhead along the car and a locking mechanism for restraining the bulkhead in selected freight bracing positions. A safety mechanism is provided for preventing inadvertent operation of either of the drive or locking mechanisms.

PATENTEDJUN 8197! 3583.333

SHEET 3 OF 4 FLAT CAR BULKHEAD LOCKING MECHANISM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a freight-bracing device and more particularly to an improved locking mechanism for a movable bulkhead assembly particularly adapted for use in railway freight cars.

It has been proposed to employ a movable bulkhead assembly at one end of a flat bedded railway car for bracing freight upon the car during transit. Such a bulkhead assembly is shown in the copending patent application of Tibor Matyas and John P. Moorhead, entitled Flat Car Bulkhead," Ser. No. 684,983, filed Nov. 22, 1967, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 3,476,041 on Nov. 4, I969, and assigned to the assignee of this invention. This type of assembly has lent considerable additional versatility to the flatcar type of freight transportation and has proven quite satisfactory in use. As is well known, the bracing devices used in transporting freight in vehicles such as railway freight cars are subjected to considerable shock loadings. If a handle is used for actuating the locking mechanism that retains the bracing device, particularly a bulkhead, in its selected bracing positions, these shock forces may act on the handle in such a direction as to tend to cause its release. It has been proposed to provide separate latch mechanisms that act upon the handle of the locking mechanism to preclude either inadvertent or inertial release of the locking mechanism. Since these latch mechanisms are separate and provide no additional function, they are frequently expensive.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide an improved safety mechanism for precluding inadvertent release ofa bulkhead locking mechanism.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved operating handle latch.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved safety mechanism for operating upon a plurality of handles of a freight-bracing bulkhead assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A movable bulkhead embodying this invention is adapted to brace freight in a cargo-lading area and has a bracing member adapted to engage and brace freight. Drive means are provided for moving the bracing member between preselected bracing positions relative to the cargo area. Locking means are provided for releasably restraining the bracing member in the preselected bracing positions. Safety means movable between an engaged position and a disengaged position are interrelated to the drive means and the locking means for precluding the operation of either of such means when the safety means is in its engaged position and for permitting operation of either of such means when the safety means is in its disengaged position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a perspective view of a railway flat car embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view looking generally in the direction of the arrow 2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A railway flatcar embodying this invention is shown partially in FIG. 1 and is identified generally by the reference numeral 11. It is to be understood that, although this invention is described in conjunction with such a railway car, certain aspects of the invention may find utility in other types of railway cars or other similar freight-transporting vehicles. The flat car 11 may be provided with a convertible floor structure 12 of the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,361,40l, issued .Ian. 2, 1968 in the name of Donald W. Hanifan, entitled Floor Structure Convertible to a Shipping Support." This floor structure extends a substantial portion of the length of the car 11 but terminates short of at least one end of the car. At this end of the car, a movable bulkhead assembly embodying this invention and indicated generally by the reference numeral 13 is provided. It should be understood that a similar movable bulkhead assembly may be provided at the other end of the car, a fixed bulkhead assembly may be provided at this other end or the other end of the car may have no bulkhead assembly. The bulkhead assembly 13 is supported for movement to preselected, longitudinally spaced positions relative to the car 11 upon four sets of tracks 14, 15, I6 and 17in a manner which will become more apparent as this description proceeds. Referring now additionally to the remaining figures, the bulkhead assembly 13 is comprised of a first frame made up of two vertically extending structural members 18 and 19 affixed together in any suitable manner, by means including a transversely extending channel 21. In a like manner, a second frame is comprised of a pair of vertically extending members 22 and 23 that are connected together by means including a transversely extending channel 24. The two frames are connected together by means including an elongated transversely extending structural member 25 positioned at the upper end of the frames. In addition, lumber members are fixed to the forward or innermost face of the frames, as at 26, to tie the two frames together and to provide a load-engaging face that is adapted to be abutted against a load carried on the bed of the car 11.

A pair of forward supporting assemblies 27 and 28 (FIG. 4) are associated with the first and second frames and are juxtaposed to the load engaging face of the bulkhead assembly 13. A third supporting assembly 29 is juxtaposed to the rear edge of the bulkhead assembly 13 and spans the first and second frames. The supporting assemblies 27, 28 and 29 are identical in construction and only the supporting assembly 28 will be described in detail.

The supporting assembly 28 includes a fabricated supporting member 31 that has a generally elongated boxlike construction. The supporting member 31 has a hollow interior in which roller assemblies 32 and 33 are supported for coaction with the tracks 16 and 17. Each of these roller assemblies 32 and 33 is identical in construction and only the assembly 33 will be described in detail by particular reference to FIG. 5.

The roller assembly 33 is comprised of a pair of spaced rollers 34 and 35 that are journaled on a common shaft 36 and which engage the upper side of the track 17. The track 17, like the tracks 14, 15 and 16, is comprised of a generally flat plate 37 that is supported upon an inverted channel 38. The plate 37 and web of the channel 38 are provided with a series of longitudinally spaced apertures 39, for a reason which will become more apparent as this description proceeds.

The shaft 36 is affixed to a yoke member 41 with the rollers 34 and 35 being disposed on opposite sides of the yoke member 41. The yoke member 41 carries an upstanding shaft 42, which may be formed integrally with the yoke member 41, and which extends through an aperture 43 formed in a top plate 44 of the supporting member 31. This portion of the shaft 42 is threaded, at at 45, to receive a nut 46 that is adapted to bear against the upper end of the plate 44.

A bearing plate 47 is affixed to the lower end of the shaft 42 and abuts the upper end of the yoke 41. A bushing 48 is affixed to the upper side of the plate 47 and extends concentrically around the shaft 42. A coil compression spring 49 encircles the bushing 48 and engages the bearing plate 47 at its lower end. The upper end of the spring 49 engages the underside of the top plate 44.

It will thus be seen that the supporting member 31 is supported upon the tracks 16 and 17 by the rollers 34 and 35 of the respective roller assemblies 32 and 33 through the intermediary of the springs 49. The supporting member 31 is pivotally connected to the second frame of the bulkhead assembly 13 by means of a pivot shaft 51 that is affixed to a depending trunnion 52 of the frame and which extends through apertures in front and rear plates 53 and S4 of the supporting member 31. Thus, if the track 16 is disposed on a higher level than the track 17, the supporting member 31 may pivot slightly in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2 while the bulkhead assembly 13 will maintain a substantially erect position. In a like manner, the supporting assembly 27 carries a pair of spaced roller assemblies that coact with the tracks 14 and 15. The supporting assembly 27 is pivotally connected to the first frame subassembly of the bulkhead by means of a similar trunnion assembly (not shown).

The supporting assembly 29 carries a pair of spaced roller assemblies 55 and 56 that contact the tracks 15 and 16 and is pivotally supported upon a pivot shaft 58 that is affixed to a trunnion 59. The trunnion 59 spans the first and second frames of the bulkhead assembly 13. It should be readily apparent from the foregoing description that the supporting assemblies 27, 28 and 29 permit the bulkhead 13 to be maintained in an erect position as it moves along the length of the car 11 regardless of any misalignment in height between the tracks 14, 15, 16 and 17. This insures that the bulkhead assembly 13 may be freely adjusted.

in order to preclude vertical disengagement of the bulkhead assembly 13 from the tracks 14, 15, 16 and 17, yoke members are provided adjacent each of the roller assemblies of the supporting assemblies 27, 28 and 29. These yoke members will be described by reference to FIG. that shows a typical installation (that at one end of the supporting assembly 28). First and second yokes 61 and 62 are affixed to the support member 31 as by welding and carry the top plate 44 by bolts 63. The yokes 61 and 62 depend on opposite sides of the roller assembly 32. The yokes 61 and 62 have horizontally extending legs 64 and 65 that extend beneath the ends of the plate 37 that overlie the channel 38. The upper ends 66 and 67 of the legs 64 and 65 are normally spaced from the underside 68 of the plate 37 but will engage this surface to preclude vertical disengagement from the respective track under shock loadings.

In order to assist in the longitudinal adjustment of the bulk head assembly 13, a drive shaft 71 extends transversely across the bulkhead assembly and is journaled adjacent its opposite ends in pillow block assemblies 72 that are affixed in any suitable manner to the frames of the bulkhead assembly 13. The drive shaft 71 has keyed to it sprocket wheels 73, which sprocket wheels engage the apertures 39 in the outermost tracks 14 and 17 so as to preclude cocking of the bulkhead assembly 13 upon its longitudinal movement.

The drive shaft 71 may also be driven by means of a sprocket 75 that is affixed to the shaft 71 between the sprocket wheel 73 that coacts with the track 17 and the vertically extending member 23 of the bulkhead frame. A drive chain 76 is trained around the sprocket 75 and around a driving sprocket 77. The driving sprocket 77 is affixed to a stub shaft 78 that is journaled in a supporting assembly 79 carried by the frame member 23. A handle 81 is connected to the driving shaft 78 by means of a reversible ratchet mechanism (not shown) so that the drive shaft 71 may be rotated in either direction to move the bulkhead assembly 13 longitudinally of the car in a desired direction. The outer end of the drive shaft 71 is also formed with a square end 82 so that a suitable tool may be engaged with this end of the shaft from the side of the car for adjustment of the bulkhead assembly 13.

In order to lock the bulkhead assembly 13 in any of a plurality of bracing positions, a plurality of locking pins 83 are provided each of which has depending pins 84 that are adapted to engage adjacent pairs of apertures 39 in each of the tracks l4, 15, 16 and 17. it should thus be apparent that the outermost pair of pins 83 coact with the same apertures in the tracks 14 and 17 as do the sprocket wheels 73. The pins 83 are, however, displaced forwardly with respect to the bulk head assembly 13 from the sprocket wheels 73.

Each of the pins 83 is guided for reciprocation between a respective pair of plates 85 and 86, which pairs of plates are affixed to the opposite ends of the supporting assemblies 27 and 28. A short plate 87 extends perpendicularly between the plates 85 and 86 to capture the pins 83 between these plates and the rear face of the respective supporting member 31. Since the pins 83, therefore, are carried by the respective supporting assembly 27 or 28, their depending pins 84 will be aligned with the apertures 39 in the respective track regardless of any vertical misalignment.

Each of the pins 83 has a trunnion portion 88 at its upper end in which a pivot pin 89 is affixed. The pivot pins 89 are connected to the lower end of respective actuating links 91. The upper ends of each of the links 91 are pivotally connected to respective bellcranks 92 by means of pivot pins 93. There is sufficient clearance in this pivotal connection to accommodate any relative movement which may occur due to the aforenoted pivotal movement of the supporting assemblies 27, 28. The bellcranks 92 are all affixed to a common torsion shaft 94 that is appropriately journaled on the bulkhead assembly 13 in the vertically extending frame members 18, 19, 22 and 23. An operating handle 95 is affixed to the torsion tube 94 between the frame members 22 and 23 for operating the lock pins 83 between their engaged position and a disengaged position as the operating handle 95 is rotated between the solid line position shown in FIG. 3 and the dotted line position shown in this figure.

Due to the relationship of the operating handle 95 and its length, shock loadings in certain directions on the bulkhead assembly 13 might cause rotation of the operating handle 95 and inadvertent release of the locking pins 83. A structure is provided for retaining the handle 81 in a storage position and for precluding this accidental release of the locking pins 83. This mechanism, which is shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3, is comprised ofa spring-loaded pin latch 96 that is affixed in any suitable manner to the torsion tube 94 and which has a locking pin portion 97 that may be reciprocated by means of an actuating handle portion 98. The outer end of the handle 81 is formed with an aperture 99 into which the locking pin portion 97 of the latch 96 is received when the handle 81 is in a storage position as shown in the broken line view of FIG. 3.

It should be obvious from an inspection of FIG. 3 that the overcenter relationship of the handle 81 in its storage position will preclude movement of the actuating handle 95 under shock loadings or if the handle 95 is inadvertently gripped and pulled. The pin latch assembly 96 thus precludes operation of both the locking mechanism and the drive mechanism when engaged. The pin latch 96 can be conveniently released so that the operating handle 95 may be pivoted to release the locking pins 83. The bulkhead assembly 13 may then be repositioned by manipulation of the handle 81 which is also now in a released condition.

Coil compression springs 101 encircle the outermost pair of links 91 and are compressed between plates 102 fixed the respective frame members 18 and 23 and washers 103 affixed to the links 91. The springs 101 exert a downward force upon the links 91 to urge all of the locking pins 83 toward their engaged positions. Even though the centermost links 91 carry no such springs, the force exerted by these springs will be transmitted through the torsion tube 94 to all locking pins 83. The springs 101 may have sufficient tension to urge all of the locking pins 83 to their engaged positions when the handle 95 is released or, alternatively, may merely assist in the latching operation.

lclaim:

1; In a movable bulkhead assembly adapted to brace freight in a cargo lading area and having a bracing member adapted to engage and brace such freight, drive means for moving said bracing member between preselected bracing positions relative to the cargo area, and locking means for releasably restraining said bracing member in such preselected bracing positions, the improvement comprising safety means movable between an engaged position and disengaged position, said safety means being interrelated to said drive means and said locking means for precluding operation of either of said drive means or said locking means when said safety means is in its engaged position and for permitting operation ofeither of said drive means or said locking means when said safety means is in its disengaged position.

2. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the drive means includes an operating handle, the safety means including means for latching said operating handle relative to said locking means.

3. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cargo lading area is formed by a movable freight transporting vehicle subjected to shock loadings, the locking means includes an actuating handle supported for pivotal movement between a locking position and an unblocking position, the pivot axis of the actuating handle extending transversely to the directions of shock loading whereby shock loadings on the freight-transporting vehicle tend to cause pivotal movement of said actuating handle, said safety means being effective to preclude pivotal movement of said safety means being effective to preclude pivotal movement of said actuating handle from its locking position to its unlocking position under shock loadings.

4. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the drive means includes an operating handle, the safety means including latching means for retaining said operating handle in a fixed position relative to said locking means.

5. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the drive means comprises a driving shaft and an operating handle for rotating said driving shaft, the locking means comprising a torsion shaft and an actuating handle for rotating said actuating shaft, said operating and said actuating handles being supported for pivotal movement about parallel axes.

6. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 5 wherein the safety means includes latching means for latching the free end of the operating handle relative to the torsion shaft.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent 333 Dated June 8, 1971 Inventor(s) TibOI Matyas It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 63, "at" first occurrence, should be as column 4, line 55, after "fixed insert to column 5, line 15, "unblocking" should be unlocking column 5, line 20, delete "safety means being", column 6, line 1, delete "effective to preclude pivotal movement of said".

Signed and sealed this 28th day of December 1971.

(SEAL) Atte st:

EDWARD M.FI ETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Acting Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-105O (10-69) USCOM'WDC 503754,,

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1. In a movable bulkhead assembly adapted to brace freight in a cargo lading area and having a bracing member adapted to engage and brace such freight, drive means for moving said bracing member between preselected bracing positions relative to the cargo area, and locking means for releasably restraining said bracing member in such preselected bracing positions, the improvement comprising safety means movable between an engaged position and disengaged position, said safety means being interrelated to said drive means and said locking means for precluding operation of either of said drive means or said locking means when said safety means is in its engaged position and for permitting operation of either of said drive means or said locking means when said safety means is in its disengaged position.
 2. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the drive means includes an operating handle, the safety means including means for latching said operating handle relative to said locking means.
 3. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the cargo lading area is formed by a movable freight-transporting vehicle subjected to shock loadings, the locking means includes an actuating handle supported for pivotal movement between a locking position and an unblocking position, the pivot axis of the actuating handle extending transversely to the directions of shock loading whereby shock loadings on the freight-transporting vehicle tend to cause pivotal movement of said actuating handle, said safety means being effective to preclude pivotal movement of said safety means being effective to preclude pivotal movement of said actuating handle from its locking position to its unlocking position under shock loadings.
 4. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 3 wherein the drive means includes an operating handle, the safety means including latching means for retaining said operating handle in a fixed position relative to said locking means.
 5. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the drive means comprises a driving shaft and an operating handle for rotating said driving shaft, the locking means comprising a torsion shaft and an actuating handle for rotating said actuating shaft, said operating and said actuating handles being supported for pivotal movement about parallel axes.
 6. A movable bulkhead assembly as set forth in claim 5 wherein the safety means includes latching means for latching the free end of the operating handle relative to the torsion shaft. 